Snow is forecast... in California. At this time of year I like to see how the snowpack is doing the Golden State. I don't know when I'll be there again but the snow lingers well into summer as seen here on Mount Shasta in June 2016. I hiked and camped just below where the treeline meets the snow, further up there is a permanent glacier which is one for the mountaineers.

 This year I can report that snowpack was at 108% of average as of 2nd. January. The distribution is not even. Northern California is at 161% so that will include Shasta which is part of the Cascades mountain region. The Sierra Nevadas running through the middle of the state are at 94%, further south it's only 75%. The snowmelt has consequences for the year ahead because it constitutes a large amount of California's water supply.

 In the past 20 years California has had periods of severe drought with both snowfall and rain way down on the yearly average. Then again there have been several extreme years. For example a couple of years ago the Sierras ended up at 228% snowpack by early April.

 I was looking at a graphic showing snowpack over the past 20 years. I noted that two of the extreme winters coincided with hikes I did the following summers. In June 2017 I skirted Crater Lake (in Oregon but part of the Cascades area).  I had to wait several days for the snow to melt sufficiently to access the Pacific Crest Trail. In July 2019 I had a tough couple of hours trekking uphill through a thick band of snow on the PCT near Lake Tahoe.

 We had a smattering of snow in London and Hertfordshire last night but snowpack is not really a consideration in southern England!